NEW YORK CITY, N.Y. — A man was repeatedly punched and pushed onto the subway tracks in a hate crime assault at the Union Square/14 Street subway station in Manhattan on Friday, the NYPD said.
Police said the victim, a 24-year-old Hispanic man, got into a verbal dispute with a man on a No. 4 train as it was approaching the station. The man, who police said was wearing a red "Make America Great Again" hat and shirt, made several derogatory statements about the victim's ethnicity during the dispute, according to WPIX.
The man then followed the victim off the train onto the platform, punched his head several times and pushed him onto the track bed before fleeing to a Brooklyn bound L train, the NYPD said.
The victim was helped back onto the platform by his friend and another individual and taken to the hospital for a laceration on his head. The victim required staples on his head, according to police.
Officials released surveillance video of the suspected attacked. Police said he has a heavy build and was last seen wearing a red "Make America Great Again" hat, a red shirt with the words "Make America Great Again" in white letters, blue dungaree overalls, a black ¾ jacket and jewelry around his neck.
